I have a 98 Grand Cherokee, and its clear its at the age where things that aren't in the maintenance schedule are needing to be done. Can anyone give me things besides, spark plugs, serp belt and common things that are common things that need to be replaced, ball joints?, u joints? shocks/springs(which are oem)? and if chrysler put the fuel filter inside the gas tank does that mean its just going to be that much more expensive to replace it or will it do as is.

Im planning on replacing my spark plug wires here soon. But, when it comes to u joints and ball joints and stuff like that, IMO, if it aint broke, dont fix it. Just keep em greased up and watch for the dust boots not to tear.

I mean, if you really wanted to, shocks could be nice to replace. You'd be surprised at the difference of ride quality after a new set of shocks. Transfercase and tranny fluid are some things that seem to be commonly overlooked. I dunno, the list could go on and on. JM2C.

I've just been hearing this clunking noise, when i shift from park, and then in a different location (quieter, but same noise) when I'm turning sharp at lower speeds.

I don't do much offroading, and when i do its very amateur. So based on shocks, do you have any reccomendation as to what brand offers a softer ride. Monroe offers the basic OEM economy replacements and then they have the more expensive adjusting ones. Do you think there is a big difference in them?

I have only bought one set of new shocks for my ZJ. And they came with my cheap Fat Bobs Garage BB. But I must say, they were like riding on a cloud compared to the old and worn stock shocks. And the shocks that came with the kit can be purchased at like $25 a piece. And thats just the cheapo ones! I cant even imagine the ride some of these guys on JeepFourm have. With their crazy expensive shocks.
Even if you do very little offroading, shocks wear just like any other part on a vehicle. Wouldnt hurt to swap em out with an OEM replacement. Go for it.

If you get a chance to, inspect and replace all suspension bushing as necessary. By this age, most are pretty worn and sometimes, they are the root cause of mysterious clunks. This, along with shocks make a stock height ZJ ride like it's new again.